


Don't Die on Me // Levi Ackerman

by 90slevi



Series: Anime <3 [3]
Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Angst, Author Is Sleep Deprived, Character Death, Death, Depressing, Everything is Beautiful and Everything Hurts, F/M, Horror, Hurt/Comfort, I Made Myself Cry, Levi (Shingeki no Kyojin) Swears, Oops, Sad, Scared Levi (Shingeki no Kyojin), Survival
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-23
Updated: 2020-06-23
Packaged: 2021-03-03 20:54:49
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,780
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24881902
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/90slevi/pseuds/90slevi
Summary: "I don't want to hear you ranting and raving about killing the titans while I'm about to die, I'd prefer something a bit more sentimental.""How can you joke at a time like this?""Who said I was joking?"---in which an expedition goes incredibly, incredibly wrong.ORlevi manages to save y/n from a titan's grasp, but she's going to die anyway, and there's nothing he can do to save the girl he cares about so much.---levi & y/n have had a secret relationship for the past year, so erwin is surprised to see his strongest soldier so upset.warning: it's sad, so if you're emotional, welcome to my story :)
Relationships: Levi & Reader, Levi (Shingeki no Kyojin)/Reader
Series: Anime <3 [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1802683
Comments: 9
Kudos: 99





	Don't Die on Me // Levi Ackerman

**Author's Note:**

> I had this idea all day, it came to me when I was in maths class.  
> I don't know why.  
> But I made myself cry while writing this whoops :')  
> Enjoy!!

The screams of your fallen soldiers were enough to keep you going, and the sharp outline of the letter you held close to your chest caused papercuts across your fingers. Tears streamed down your face as the wind whipped across your face, pricking your eyes and blurring your vision. Rain pelted down, stinging the small slithers of skin that were visible and causing you to not know where you were going. Your legs ached but the adrenaline kept you going. 

Where was your horse? You had no idea, and that made it worse. You'd been bucked off when the abnormal titan had grabbed its back legs, causing you to fly off and roll into the muddy grass, hitting your head on a tree stump that allowed a trickle of blood to form on your forehead. 

The rest of your team was presumably dead, leaving you alone amid the horror you were facing. Your heart pounded against your chest, and you were sure you'd vomit again if you hadn't done so four times before. The letter in your hand was something you read to keep your spirits up and to remind you that you'd always be protected, but right now, you felt more vulnerable than ever. 

Why did you hold that letter so closely? It was the confession from your boyfriend, otherwise known as Humanity's Strongest Warrior Levi Ackerman. Your relationship was strictly private, hidden from everybody except for Hanji Zoe, who kept her mouth shut in fear of being brutally murdered by your true love. Commander Erwin would never accept his strongest warrior being in love with and distracted by a woman such as yourself, so you kept it secret to protect not only yourself but Levi's reputation too.

That didn't stop the letters coming and going, and the sweet treatment you received from him behind closed doors, however, and the only thing that kept your mind at ease was that he'd be in the comfort of his room again in a few hours. All you cared about was his safety, even if he could get out of anything. You should be more worried about yourself, as he'd mentioned plenty of times before, but you couldn't help it.

You loved him, after all, and he felt the same towards you.

A high-pitched scream rang throughout the forest, shaking you to the core, and you could only assume that the same titan from before had found someone else to feast on. There was only a matter of time left for you, and you were pretty much waiting to be scooped up by the monstrous hand and dropped into its gaping jaws. The mud splashed around your ankles, making the journey even more difficult, and the trees and masses amount of rain made the landscape impossible to see. You didn't even know how long you'd been running.

Uncontrollable sobs escaped your mouth, and you tried to keep quiet in case you exposed yourself, but it was impossible at this point. You almost fell to the ground in exhaustion, but you kept your wobbly legs up and trudged on. The mission had become a disaster quickly, the previously-sunny weather turning sour and stormy before being ambushed by titans - most of which were abnormal. 

The one that'd eaten your Squad was, at a guess, 10 meters tall and could jump to extreme heights and lengths. Its arms were insanely long, allowing it to reach out and grab within a five-meter radius and, although not intelligent in the slightest, had its own gruesome way of killing the victims. Crush their ribs so they can't move and then eat them. Disgusting. 

When you heard the loud crunching of leaves and twigs behind you, your heart began to pound even louder. You were sure anybody could hear or even feel it, and your crying got worse. That titan was right behind you, and there was no way you'd be able to kill it. Your Squad Captain and Squad members had tried before you, but the titan had managed to smack them or grab them before their blades could even touch the titan's skin. Levi had given you enough confidence in the past year for you to know that you could kill a regular old titan, but after seeing everyone you once knew get killed by such a monster, you simply couldn't face it. 

What was so cowardly about saving your life? 

"Help me," you managed to blubber out into the open air, before shrieking as you saw the titan's hand loom above you. You'd nearly ran out of gas, using most of it to kill two previous titans and the rest to escape the one that was currently chasing you. For a while, you'd accepted that you'd most likely die as a Survey Corp, and you were unafraid of it. However, when death is staring you straight in the face, all your confidence seems to disappear and suddenly, life becomes precious. "Please!"

Your cries for help were useless, especially in these conditions where the rain and wind drowned out your voice. The titan took another leap into the air and using the last of your gas, you shot yourself forwards, clinging to a tree and hoping that if you hid for a while, the rain would go and you'd be able to get home. 

Unfortunately, that wasn't the case.

As the titan came shooting back down, it knocked into your tree, causing you to fall out. You screamed, landing into a bush that thankfully cushioned your fall, but before you could get onto your feet, that disgusting creature was running over on its hands and feet, its gormless expression torturing your last moments. It had huge, beady blue eyes and showed off its yellowing teeth through a forced smile with its tongue hanging out. There was barely any hair on its head, and somehow it moved on an unhealthily-skinny naked body. You shuffled backwards, fear evident in your eyes, but it didn't care. Its left arm reached forward and grabbed you, and you swung your arms violently, hoping to chop off its hand and let you go. 

But it was pointless. 

Instantly, it clenched, and you screamed out in pain as you felt your ribs and other bones in your body to break and do god-knows-what else. Tears streamed down your face as you felt the end coming, and the disgusting breath of the titan ruined your nostrils. You dropped Levi's letter on the floor, hoping he'd find it and know that your death was here. You knew that if you were to die (there was a slim chance you would survive, so you'd lost all hope), Levi would want as much information as possible, especially if he could find your body. 

Clenching your eyes shut, you tried to regulate your breathing. The warmth of the titan's mouth engulfed you, and everything seemed to go in slow-motion. Lips trembling and eyes becoming painful, you awaited death. If the rest of your squad went like this, then it was only natural that you did too. 

_I'm sorry, Levi._

That was until you heard a loud yell from behind, and your eyes widened when you felt a gust of something swoop past you. Blood began to pool from the titan's chin, and you noticed that its jaw was stuck open due to someone slicing it open. Another gust of wind passed, and you noticed that its arms were being sliced. The hand holding you dropped open, and you fell to the ground, only just being caught by a second person. Your eyes widened to see Hanji Zoe, her eyes wide in panic as she looked from the titan to you.

Squinting up at the titan that'd just been brutally killed, you saw an all-too-familiar figure standing on top of it, his black hair shading his emotionless grey eyes. His mouth was agape as he breathed heavily, and he turned his face to you, making eye-contact.

It was Levi.

He jumped down instantly and ran over as fast as he could, the anger in his expression replaced with worry as he dropped both weapons in his hands and knelt down. Hanji placed you on the floor in the wet leaves, the rain pelting down on you. But you didn't care. Even if you were dying right now, which you were, at least you were surrounded by people you loved and not in the mouth of a titan. Pain and exhaustion shot through your body like drugs, and you winced with every minor movement. 

"Y/n," Levi whispered, his eyes wide and full of emotions you couldn't begin to explain. He placed his hand gently on your forehead and brushed your hair out of your face, stroking your cheek with his thumb in the process. You reached upwards, cringing due to the intense pain in your abdomen, and took his hand in his. He looked down at your face and body, his breath hitching in his throat. "You're alive."

"For now," you muttered, your voice hoarse from the screaming. As soon as you spoke, though, you coughed up blood, and Levi, panicked, tried to get rid of as much pressure on your chest as possible. This included taking off your cloak (he covered you with his own so you didn't get wet), trying to pull off your gear and harness and loosening your brown jacket. However, he froze when he saw the large red stains scattered across your white shirt, and he bit his lip nervously. He didn't want to imagine the pain you felt, and he certainly didn't want to face the undeniable fact that you were dying.

You were going to die. 

"I'm so sorry," he said quietly, his grief being replaced by a wave of anger you'd only ever seen once before. He squeezed your hand tightly and looked down, his nose wrinkled and eyes filled with rage. "I'll kill every single one of those fucking bastards, and if anyone gets in my way, I'll kill them too. You don't deserve this. Why can't this shitty world be fucking kind for once?"

"Levi, stop it," you said softly, your hand leaving his hand and cupping his face. Hanji stood up and turned around, letting the two of you have a moment. Said before, she was the only one who knew of your relationship with Levi, having accidentally walked in on the two of you asleep together. However, it was clear something was going on between the two of you; Levi was never the type to do this to his 'regular soldiers', so it was clear you were something special. 

Erwin, used to people dying all the time and becoming very desensitised, was confused at first as to why Levi was so bothered about another scream in the distance, but when the smaller man shot off on his horse, he guessed instantly that there was something going on between the two of you. He wasn't stupid, and he'd suspected a relationship behind his back for a long time, but this confirmed it. 

"I don't want to hear you ranting and raving about killing the titans while I'm about to die," you chuckled, coughing up more blood as you stared up at the sky, the rain beginning to slow down a little and finally allowing you to breathe. "I'd prefer something a bit more sentimental."

"How can you joke at a time like this?" Levi questioned, his face a mix of disgust and pain as he tried to come up with a plan that'd get you out alive. The only thing he could think of would certainly be painful for you, but it was the only thing left. 

"Who said I was joking?" you asked, a small, painful smile appearing on your lips as you tried your best to stop him from worrying. The last you wanted was him to go mad with grief. You knew just how much he cared for you, and it was obvious at this moment that he'd sacrifice the world if it meant saving you. Sighing as gently as you could without penetrating a lung (if that hadn't happened yet), you blinked away your tears and hoped that your fear wasn't showing through that fake smile of yours. "Levi, please don't become a monster. I know what you're like. Once someone you truly, truly care about dies, you don't realise what you're doing and eventually, you go on a rampage. Let Hanji take care of you if you need it. I'll always be with you, after all, and the last thing I want is for you to go insane. I love you lots, and you know that."

"And I..." he began, his eyes welling up with tears. He didn't want you to die. How would he live with himself without you? "I- Goddamn it brat, how do you get me like this? I can't even say what I fucking want to say. Why?!"

"You don't need to say anything," you said, brushing a tear from the corner of his eye. "It's okay. I know."

"But you don't, that's the thing!" Levi exclaimed, trying to keep in his anger. However, if he kept holding it in, he was sure to burst into tears, and he didn't want to do that. Especially in front of you in your last moments. The blood-loss was evident, creating a pool of red on the ground, and if the wagons with the bandages on didn't arrive soon, you'd die. Erwin had already set off a colour-coded blast, alerting the others where you were, and they all hoped that there was a wagon left. There was no way you could get home on a horse; the jolts would cause your ribs to destroy vital organs, and then there was no saving you. "You don't know how much I care, because I haven't had enough fucking time to show you. You don't understand how much I... how much I love your shitty ass because I don't have the damn strength to tell you! If I had been here ten seconds quicker, we'd be on our way home by now!"

"Don't you DARE blame yourself, Levi Ackerman," you hissed through gritted teeth, the pain in your torso becoming so unbearable that it was difficult to stop yourself bawling. You let out a few broken sobs before continuing, trying not to choke on your tears. "It was not, is not and never will be your fault. For once, I'm giving YOU orders, and that's to not blame yourself. Understood?"

"Understood," he muttered, before whipping his head round to face Erwin. "Oi, eyebrows, where the fuck are the wagons?"

"I think they're all destroyed," the blonde-haired man stated calmly, and Levi's intense, stabbing glare was shaded by his black hair. "It appears that we're the only survivors."

"Go back home and get a fucking wagon," Levi muttered through gritted teeth, and all the other soldiers were silent, in case they were killed by the man. However, no answer was worse than a wrong answer, and he stood up, his stare destroying any dominance or confidence any of the men or women felt they had. "Are you shitheads deaf or something!? I said to go get a wagon!"

"There's no way we can get her home, Levi," Erwin said into the emptiness. On second thoughts, maybe no answer was better. "By the time we've got a wagon, she'll be dead."

"Oh yeah?" Levi asked threateningly, staring bullets into the commander's body. His voice was gradually getting louder, and you winced. Hanji sat beside you, trying her best to fix you up. She sliced off half of her cape and tried to wrap it around your body. Broken ribs weren't easy to fix - in fact, bandages barely did anything to help, but this was to stop the blood loss. The cloak wouldn't do much to help in the long run, but it slowed it down a little. Worse, the usually-stoic man was completely losing it. "We're fucking trying it anyway. If she dies on me, then so are you."

"Levi, you're being irrational," Erwin said, furrowing his eyebrows. "You saved her life from a worse fate. You were too late to save her for good, and that's it. That's life."

"It wasn't his fault!" you exclaimed, a little too loudly and quickly for your body's liking. You coughed up even more blood, and tears streamed down your face. It was definitely a painful death, but you'd rather go out this way than being eaten. Levi rushed back over, squatting down. Tears were visible in his eyes again and he bit his lip to stop himself from breaking down. You gave him a quick smile, resting your head against the tree roots again as you tried to come up with good last words. Before you knew it, you were shivering, and you wanted to be back home more than anything. 

"Y/n, I can get you home, I promise," he said, kneeling into the ground and pressing his hand to your cold face. "I'll try anything, even if it gets me dead in the process."

"Don't say things like that, Levi," you whispered, taking his hand into yours and kissing it, hoping it'd calm him down. "And don't make promises you can't keep."

"I'm just trying to convince myself you won't die," he admitted quietly, wiping his eyes with the sleeve of his jacket. By now, he'd given up trying to hide his emotions. It was impossible. "I can't stand seeing you like this."

"I wouldn't be able to if it were you," you replied, playing with his fingers as your breathing became shallow. "Levi, I'm uncomfortable."

He nodded, knowing just what you wanted. He sat in the ground (much to his dismay) and shuffled beside you before planting your head and upper body into his lap. Although it hurt to move around, you were still happy and you rest your head against his stomach. He wrapped one of his arms around your shoulders and the other very carefully around your waist, and he held you close. His face was buried into your hair, and it was at that point where he just couldn't stop crying. Tears fell from his eyes like bullets from a gun, and they continued pouring out of his eyes. His lips trembled as he tried to keep his composure, but a strangled breath escaping his lips alerted you of his crying. You reached up once again and cupped his face, beginning to cry yourself. 

"L-Levi," you whispered out, glancing up into his eyes. He averted his stares, the tears streaming down his cheeks as he tried to ignore fate. "Look at me! Please!"

He bit the inside of his cheek, finally looking down. His hand brushed your hair from out of your face and he placed a small, sentimental kiss on your forehead before letting you speak. 

"I don't care what happens next, but promise me this," you began, linking your fingers with his and squeezing as tight as you could, which wasn't as near as strong as it had been before. "You'll still be that man I fell in love with ten years into the future. You won't become a man that I would fear or dislike. You'll remember me, but you won't cry when you do. Instead, you'll smile. Promise me this. Please, that's my only wish."

"I-I promise," he said, gulping back his tears as he pressed a kiss to your lips, holding you as tight as he could without hurting you. You bought your arms up to his shoulders, gently wrapping them around his neck as you pressed further into the kiss, not wanting to let him go. You had no family back home and barely any friends; the only person you cared about deeply was Levi, and you just prayed and hoped he'd be safe. "But what if I can't keep it?"

"I'll be there by your side to help, don't worry," you said with a smile, tiredness washing over you. Your vision slowly began to go blurry, and your eyes started to flutter shut, but before you lost all your senses altogether, you heard someone shout something about a wagon. 

"Y/n, please, stay alive," Levi begged, his body jolting up. Your eyes widened as much as they could, but you were so weak that it was becoming difficult to even keep your heart beating. Glancing upwards, you noticed that a few others had returned with a single wagon. There was nothing in it, and half of it had been destroyed, but it was enough. Levi delicately picked you up, and although it hurt a lot, you were placed inside. Your mind was whirring, trying to keep you alive, and you tried to focus on the others talking. Although it was difficult to tell what they were saying, you still tried your hardest. Levi knelt down beside you inside it, the wagon getting attached to the horses before being trailed off. Every jolt and movement was painful, and you started to cry again. 

Levi was terrified. He hated seeing you in agony, and if he was certain you were to die, he'd have put you out of your misery long ago. But he was certain there was a way to keep you alive, and thank god he'd tried. 

He just hoped you'd stay awake for the journey home. It would take 30 minutes at least, so he had to watch you sit in pain for that long. It was agonising, and he knew that one wrong jolt could kill you. Sitting closer to you than you expected, he gently tapped his fingers across your scalp and forehead, giving you something to focus on. Never had he been good at romance, yet somehow you fell for him and he fell for you. He couldn't lose that, and he definitely couldn't lose you.

"I love you, Y/n," he whispered, leaning down and planting another kiss on your forehead. You gave him a small smile, glad the others were respectful enough to look away. Hanji, however, watched, just to make sure you were alive and to make sure Levi didn't do something stupid. He was Humanity's Strongest for plenty of reasons, but she knew that when it came to you, he could go on a rampage. She remembered what happened with Isabel and Farlan - she was only a young cadet back then, and seeing him so upset and angry was something she could never forget. Losing you would be just as bad, probably even worse. 

"I love you too, Levi," you said, before closing your eyes and going to sleep. 


End file.
